1. Field
Example embodiments relate to an apparatus and method for analyzing properties of grains and grain boundaries of synthesized graphene.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, as carbon-based materials, fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, diamonds, graphite and/or graphene are being researched in various fields.
Among those materials, carbon nanotubes have been spotlighted since the 1990s, but recently, graphene having a sheet structure has attracted attention. Graphene is a thin-film material in which carbon atoms are two-dimensionally arranged, and inside graphene, electric charges work as zero-effective mass particles, such that graphene is known as having relatively high electric conductivity, high heat conductivity, and high elasticity.
Therefore, properties of graphene have been studied, and research has also been conducted to utilize graphene in various fields. In particular, graphene may be used to implement a transparent electrode which can be used in interconnections of a circuit board, which is essentially installed in electric and electronic devices, or a display device.
To use graphene in industrial fields, there is a need for a technique for synthesizing large-area graphene and a technique for analyzing properties of synthesized graphene.
Graphene synthesized to have a relatively large area is mainly formed of polycrystals, and in this case, properties of graphene may be recognized by analyzing the shapes of grains and grain boundaries. That is, as the size of the grain increases, electric and thermal properties of the synthesized graphene are improved.
As techniques for analyzing grains and grain boundaries of graphene, there are an atomic force microscope (AFM), a scanning electron microscope (SEM), a transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and/or dispersive Raman. However, these analyzing methods may cause inconvenience of manufacturing a sample for analysis and/or may analyze only a local portion of several μm or below.